Zimbabwe’s internet market registered modest overall growth in the fourth quarter of 2025, but underlying shifts in technology usage and operator performance point to a rapidly evolving competitive landscape, according to data from POTRAZ.
Total internet subscriptions rose by 2.02% to 13.25 million, with the regulator indicating that “total subscriptions increased from 12,990,447 in Q3 2025 to 13,252,877 in Q4 2025.” Growth was largely driven by mobile internet, which continues to dominate the market with over 12.8 million subscriptions. However, the most significant structural change emerged in the fixed internet segment, where satellite-based services are gaining traction.
VSAT subscriptions surged by 31.62% during the quarter, with POTRAZ noting that “VSAT subscriptions increased from 50,949 to 67,057,” a shift closely linked to the expansion of Starlink in Zimbabwe. This growth translated into a sharp increase in data usage, with Starlink’s traffic volumes rising by 42.76%, as reflected in the regulator’s data showing traffic growth “from 117,828,620,000 to 168,213,240,000.”
The rapid uptake of satellite internet highlights growing demand for alternatives to traditional fixed infrastructure, particularly in underserved and peri-urban areas where fibre and DSL penetration remains limited. This is further reflected in the continued decline of legacy technologies such as DSL, which contracted by 1.73%, with subscriptions “declining from 89,256 to 87,713,” and WiMAX, which fell by 13.17%.
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Despite these shifts, Liquid Intelligent Technologies maintained its position as the dominant player in the fixed internet/data traffic market. However, its traffic volumes declined by 10.54% in Q4, with POTRAZ data showing a drop “from 259,700,000,000 to 232,323,520,000,” resulting in a fall in market share from 58.90% in Q3 to 48.41% in Q4.
Over the same period, Starlink expanded its market share significantly, climbing from 26.73% to 35.05%, a gain of 8.32 percentage points. This aligns with the regulator’s market share figures showing Starlink at “35.05% in Q4 2025,” up from “26.73% in Q3 2025,” marking one of the most notable competitive advances in Zimbabwe’s internet sector in recent years.
State-owned TelOne also recorded strong growth, with traffic increasing by 35.01%, with volumes rising “from 33,624,143,064 to 45,394,282,579,” while other players such as Telecontract and African Fibre Networks posted moderate gains. Meanwhile, Dandemutande experienced a slight contraction in traffic, with figures showing a decline “from 7,221,000,000 to 7,130,000,000.”
The data suggests a market in transition, where traditional fibre dominance is increasingly being challenged by low-orbit satellite solutions. While Liquid remains the largest operator, the pace of Starlink’s expansion signals intensifying competition and a potential rebalancing of market power if current growth trends persist.
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